2011 June — Running Stitch

Guess I’ll take my time

There was so much crammed into our short time on the Island that I’m sort of overwhelmed by it all. It may be best summed up by this conversation between my oldest and I, on our last night.

“Wow what a day”
“Yeah”
“What a night!”
” I know”
“I can’t believe all the things we did this weekend
” Me either!”

We rode the Ferry and saw orcas!

We explored and observed and studied dragons!

We attended a dragon funeral.

With s’mores. Because we are new to Funeral Pyres and s’mores seemed like a good idea.

There was also Dragon snot punch “uh Mama this tastes like soda”. And Dragon boogers. We are totally mature. Shush. Oh and Dragon claws. Yum.

Yes, yes that is chocolate on his forehead….

We went on a dragon quest!

We played on the beach. And played on the beach. And of course, the beach, we played on it.

“And” he said, waving his arms over his head “The tooth fairy is coming…” Because of course on the last night of the last day of your visit to your pen pal’s house on Dragon Island, what better says Perfection, than a gold dollar coin under you pillow.

Thank you Dragon Island, we’ll be back….

*Miles from nowhere-cat stevens (it’s a cat stevens kind of week)

I’m experiencing some network issues. The story continues tomorrow! (hopefully)

Mine is the sunlight; Mine is the morning

The Hair, watching Orcas jump, from the Ferry rail

We drove off the Ferry in a misting rain, as if Dragon Island were just as sad to see us leave as we were to go. We had spent a weekend full of warm sunshine, good food, and great times.

Several days before, we had arrived, still damp from the journey but with steam rising off of us from the sunny ferry ride. A ride that was much delayed for an unknown reason, and led some Mamas to wonder if they would have the patience that being a good house guest required if her offspring used it all up in the Ferry Line.

“I’s checkin the wires….I need a flashlight!”

But freedom to explore, sand to play in, sand to play in, sand to play in, well that quells a young boy’s spirit and much of the visit you was spent on the shores of Dragon Island. Reading, playing, exploring. All the keys to happiness in a small boy’s world.

The Mamas? They, not being as completely warm blooded as some boys, imbued a lot of hot tea, especially early on. What do you mean its only 9:30am?

We drove off the Ferry in a misting rain, as if Dragon Island were just as sad to see us leave as we were to go. We had spent a weekend full of warm sunshine, good food, and great times. And while it is always hard to leave, the rain made it a little easier, as if the timing was just right. The man did not journey with us and when the bags had been hauled in and unpacked, and the sand shaken from clothes, and shoes, and boys, he said “how was it”.

And like a contented Goldilocks I told him, it was just, right.

*Morning has Broken-Cat Stevens

Conversations with Wah

Scene:

Son Two in time out, Me at the computer.

Son Two: Grunt..grunnnttttt
Me: What are you doing
Son Two: grunnnnt. i”m trying to pop my head off
Me: …..
Me:…..
Me:. Why?
Son Two: So I can see what Brudder is doing.

breakfast (a case study)

This Moment

Inspired by SouleMama’s Moments.

While away the hours…

He loves to be ‘wif’ me. A preschool graduate, he is now home when Grandma comes over for Art with Brother. And so I knew I needed to prepare a much needed ‘wif me’ craft. He wanted to play in flour on the counter, but with the sink not so much working and Egyptians coming later in the day we compromised with making playdough.

Naturally by compromise I mean, I made playdough while he watched nursery rhymes and not so much nursery rhymes like Eric Herman”s here I made Lucky bean’s playdough.

Luckybean’s recipe found here.

This comes together really well and by the time I was adding color (just a few drops in the center then knead until it’s the color you want) he was back in the game. As for the dinosaurs of ill repute, but had to nix the transformers. Have you ever tried to clean playdough off transformers…sigh.

After the meteor hits. And several hours of playing. It’s always amazing to me how he can play in flour, or clay for hours. Guess he gets that from his dad.

*Scarecrow’s song-The Wizard of Oz

The sun is hot, in the sky

Sometimes I wish I had learned how to apply make up so they look less like I beat them and more Egyptian

We’ve been to Egypt this week. I know your sooo jealous, your thinking “how does she do it? How does she fit it all in? the kids, the job, the lifestyle, the glamor? How?”

Oh go on, I say, flipping my hand nonchalantly, pshaw, it’s easy, all you have to do is get up before you go to bed and make sure you get everything done before you think of it.

For instance, yesterday we had a few things planned for our Egypt trip. We learned about Egyptian Gods and Goddess and Egyptian clothes and make up and wigs. We forwent the scented wax on top of the heads though because it is just too darn hard to explain how you accidently lit your son on fire in Ancient Egypt, I find.

Anywho the Egyptian God of the Sun Thoth, smiled upon us on the first day of summer and so eschewing our school plans, we beat feet to the River Nile.

It has recently flooded the area and so the slopes were abundant with uh, papyrus and fertile damp soil. Or as it translates loosely. Mud.

We made some mud bowls and left them to dry on a flat rock. Of course they look like bowls. Get your mind out of the toilet.

We talked crops, and fertile crescent and crocodiles thanks to Bill and Pete. We even had a brief foray into Moses and tried our hands at weaving some grass baskets. But it didn’t really come together for us and of course there was all the …mud.

I’m not sure I mentioned the Mud. Egypt was very, very muddy. Which is odd for a desert, but then I guess they had to make all those bricks out of something.